Trump Vows to Use “Executive Privilege” to Stonewall Jan. 6 Panel Subpoenas

By Staff, Agencies

The 45^th US president issued a same-day response to the Select Committee's Thursday decision, vowing pushback against the move.

"We will fight the Subpoenas on Executive Privilege and other grounds, for the good of our Country", Trump said in a statement aimed at the Select Committee.

It is unclear how Trump could use Executive Privilege, as he is no longer a US president.

The former US president referred to the nine-member House committee as the "Unselect Committee of highly partisan politicians".

The Select Committee is made up of seven Democratic lawmakers and only two Republican lawmakers: Reps. Liz Cheney [R-WY] and Adam Kinzinger [R-IL] - both appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi [D-CA].

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy [R-CA] was allowed up to five nominations for the group, but pulled all five recommendations after Pelosi rejected Reps. Jim Banks [R-IN] and Jim Jordan [R-OH], citing integrity concerns for the committee.

McCarthy panned Pelosi's decision as "an egregious abuse of power" and announced that Republicans would carry out a separate probe that would primarily focus on the security situation at the US Capitol on January 6th.

The Select Committee, led by Rep. Bennie Thompson [D-MS], is scheduled to convene on October 14^th and 15^th to hear depositions from former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Daniel Scavino, former US Department of Defence official Kashyap Patel, and a former Trump adviser, Steve Bannon.